Ah... so that means...
Rimuru gritted his teeth. Under Fou's worried gaze, he pushed himself up against the wall and slowly tried to make his way outside, one step at a time.
Fou could only erase the part of me that was mimicking a human, right?
"Yes. Although your memories say you're a descendant of the Tempest Family, a hybrid of humans and Phantasmal Species, in reality, as far as I know, both your physical immunity and your super-speed regeneration are entirely Slime traits. At their core, perhaps only a trace of human blood and a human soul exist within you... As for your body, it probably belongs entirely to a Slime by now."
Then... that's good news, at least.
Rimuru clenched his teeth. Fou's erasure was far worse than he'd imagined. The cells that were constantly breaking down had severely taxed his body's functions in just a few seconds. It was fair to say he was now in a state of continuous mimicry, having to repeat the process every moment, every second, just to keep his body from losing function as its cells collapsed.
Without Great Sage's computer-like computational ability, Rimuru would have burned out his brain just trying to maintain this mimicry himself.
He could avoid this damage by taking Slime form, but to be honest, his Slime form was one of his trump cards. He didn't want to reveal it to other magi so soon. Besides, it would hurt his standing. The ability to turn into a Slime meant that he had essentially ceased to be human and was now living as a Phantasmal Species. That would only make humans more hostile toward him!
Seeing this, Fou suddenly regretted listening to Rimuru so readily. It hesitated for a moment, but in the end, it couldn't hold back. Just as it was about to rush over and help him, four or five silver blades of mercury shot toward it in rapid succession, forcing it back and blocking its path.
Chapter 065: Where there is sunrise, there is sunset. It is an eternal, unchanging law of the world.
The white hound leaped backward. Its paws struck the wall, leaving behind several cracked, web-like marks, and the sharp silver blades followed close behind—Boom! Boom! Boom!
Blow after rhythmic blow drove it back, step by step, before the blades slowly withdrew and formed a floating, gallbladder-shaped autonomous Mystic Code.
"Cough... cough. I never expected..." Watching the scene, Rimuru leaned against the wall and gave a wry smile. "It would be you..."
"Hmph. What, disappointed that the person who came to save you wasn't Achelotte?" At the sound of Rimuru's weak voice, a familiar voice rang out from a familiar floating in the sky. "But this is hardly the time to be disappointed, Lord Rimuru."
As he spoke, Volumen Hydrargyrum moved beside Rimuru and quickly unfolded, revealing a bottle of medicine inside. Kayneth said, "Drink it."
Without hesitation, Rimuru mustered his strength, grabbed the bottle, and gulped it down. Only then did he ask weakly, "What is this...?"
"A Necrotic Potion from the Tombstone School," Kayneth replied coolly. At the same time, he quickly used Volumen Hydrargyrum to spread out a defense once more. Fou narrowed its eyes and licked its paw.
"Necrotic?" Rimuru raised a hand and stared at his skin as it gradually turned pale, momentarily stunned.
"It can turn you into something like a Living Corpse for a short time. Given your Magic Resistance, I'd say it should last about twenty minutes." As though he'd seen Rimuru's shock, Kayneth continued, "It will render your body inactive, so you won't feel pain or lose bodily function. You also won't suffer fatal injuries. You could kill your opponent with just a mouth, if that's all you had left. But once the effect wears off, if you haven't received proper treatment, you'll still die."
"Achelotte may have a potion that could save you more effectively, but letting her find out would hardly be a good idea. I'll have to ask you to make do with one of my few remaining supplies."
His heart gradually stopped beating, and his blood ceased to circulate... Rimuru was astonished to discover that when his cells had all lost their vitality, the will that was breaking down seemed to fade along with it. Or rather, the breakdown was still happening, but Rimuru simply couldn't feel it.
What a powerful effect... So this is... a potion?
As he felt his body recovering and seemingly free of danger for the moment, Rimuru suddenly understood on a deeper level why a fully prepared magus was said to be nearly invincible.
Even Primate Murder's most powerful ability could be easily countered by a powerful magus who had made thorough preparations!
As for why Kayneth had a potion with this effect, Rimuru wasn't surprised. After all, the Department of Necromancy was one of the three major branches under the Department of Spiritual Evocation.
Seeing that Rimuru was out of danger, the familiar circling overhead slowly landed beside the wall next to him, then turned toward the Dead Apostle Ancestor sitting quietly nearby. "According to the information shared by the Church, although we don't know how long its ability lasts, it can't be used on the same person a second time within a short period. So, if we can keep it short enough..."
"How interesting, Fou. Do you think I'd be defeated by someone who only knows how to hide?"
Seeing Rimuru recover and feeling relieved, Fou put on an air of arrogance as it spoke. "Even if that so-called potion really works as you claim, all it does is delay your deaths. Temporarily abandoning a body that's 'already dead' so you can fight is nothing but a desperate struggle in my eyes."
"That's true. But if this desperate struggle can take you down with us, it's not a bad choice." Kayneth gave a mocking laugh. Dozens of Wangliang slowly crawled out of the surrounding shadows, snarling, making Fou take a small step back. "You have absolute power to kill humans. But what about Evil Spirits?"
"Fou..." Fou bared its sharp fangs, but said nothing. It wasn't particularly concerned about these Evil Spirits, but its mission was already complete. Now, it was more concerned with how to withdraw. Should it feign weakness? Its pride made it hesitate—
If it could, it would have liked to kill this irritating magus outright. He had already given Rimuru the potion, so he was no longer useful. But no matter how hard it searched for his location, it couldn't get any clear information. The other party had clearly used some kind of Magecraft to conceal his presence, or perhaps even established a bounded field, taking caution and cunning to the extreme.
At that moment, Rimuru glanced at Kayneth's familiar. Seeing that neither the Evil Spirits nor Volumen Hydrargyrum had made the first move, he more or less guessed Kayneth's intentions. He gave a quiet laugh, realizing it was time for him to step in.
He could clearly sense Kayneth's location. The other party had considered that the Dead Apostles might have someone capable of sensing him, and so had set up a great deal of Concealment Magecraft. But he couldn't hide from Rimuru and Great Sage, who had enveloped all of Cornwall in thick fog.
Still, at least in Rimuru's eyes, Kayneth shouldn't die here—
"Cough, cough..." The necrotic state had removed all the discomfort from his body, but he still wasn't used to the feedback from its icy coldness. "How about we each take a step back?"
"Fou?" Fou turned around in confusion, then heard Rimuru chuckle and spread his hands. "It would be noble to fight back to the death and help the Association eliminate an enemy, but compared to glory, I care more about my own life. Can you understand that, Lord Kayneth?"
"Of course." Kayneth's familiar gave a cool nod. "I'm only here to support you. You're still the commander of this unit, and you have the right to decide, Lord Rimuru."
Broadly speaking, traditional magi, as rampant egoists, could be divided into two factions. One was made up of family-oriented magi from the most traditional of the Twelve Lords, like Tohsaka Tokiomi. They placed great importance on a magus's honor and family line while pursuing the path of Magecraft, and would even give up their lives for them.
The other faction was more like Matou Zouken or Tsimiya. The former stopped at nothing to pursue his ideal, while the latter had transformed himself into one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors in pursuit of Magecraft. They shared one thing in common: family and honor meant nothing to them. In their eyes, only by staying alive could they continue pursuing what they wanted. They valued life above all else, even placing it above the reasons they had to live. It was another form of extreme egoism.
There were plenty of magi who thought this way. They could even be called one of the mainstream factions. But as long as they lived to pursue the highest mysteries of Magecraft and Akasha, they still considered themselves to be following the "right path."
So, he understood Rimuru's thinking. Although the Tombstone School's potions were powerful, those capable of forcibly delaying fatal injuries were expensive to make and difficult to brew. Moreover, potions could build up a tolerance when used in quick succession. No matter how many he had, after three doses at most, their effects would disappear completely.
This was common knowledge among all magi. He believed Rimuru knew it too. So, although he'd acted aggressively, the fact that he hadn't sent the Evil Spirits to attack was already a hint to Rimuru. His own plan was to retreat as well. But as a support member, simply showing weakness would only make the hound chase them without restraint. Fortunately, Rimuru hadn't disappointed him and had played along perfectly.
"Then, Lord Primate Murder," Rimuru said, turning to Fou. "If I'm not mistaken, your orders were only to stop us, right? Killing us would be ideal, but... with two Lords here, do you really want us to fight to the death?"
"..."
"I have fifteen minutes left." Rimuru smiled faintly. "And the fighting in the distance tells me our troops have probably begun their attack. Can you really call in reinforcements at a time like this? I admit you might be able to stop me from retreating and keep me from receiving treatment for fifteen minutes, but... I can guarantee that if we fight to the death, I'll take you with me."
"You're threatening me..."
"I just want to live. Besides, even if I receive treatment, I won't be able to return to the battlefield anytime soon... while you could head straight to the main battlefield as soon as you're free. Your abilities would be put to much better use there. I'm sure you don't need me to remind you of that."
"Fou..." Fou narrowed its eyes. If it hadn't known the other party was putting on an act, it would have thought it was actually close to being persuaded...
No wonder its master had been deceived by him so thoroughly... But sending it to the front lines to take a bite out of your own allies? Damn bastard... Were you really on humanity's side?!
It fell silent for a moment. Only when Rimuru's voice came through its mind—That's about enough—did it nod. It shot a cold glance at the slightly undulating mercury liquid and slowly retreated into the shadows. The surrounding Dead Apostles withdrew as well. As the blood-soaked atmosphere gradually faded, Rimuru finally breathed a sigh of relief. With a thud, he leaned against the wall and slid to the ground—
"Well said... I thought I'd have to step in and fight." Kayneth's cool voice came through with a hint of laughter. "But your words certainly don't live up to your reputation, Professor."
"I was just making the most effective argument." Rimuru replied weakly. "Did it really leave? Be careful. It might not actually be heading for the main battlefield. It could come looking for you..."
"I know. My familiar is keeping watch—"
"And you should warn the old men to keep the magi on the main battlefield from advancing too quickly... I can tell that its ability takes a lot of stamina. Just let the Church's people throw their lives away and wear it down. The Church has plenty of people, anyway..." Leaning against the wall, Rimuru watched the familiar hurry over and Volumen Hydrargyrum help him up. He kept on rambling like an old woman. "Can your potion really last twenty minutes?"
"Of course not." Kayneth's voice came through the familiar with a snort. "You lasted as long as five minutes? I thought your Magic Resistance would make it wear off in about three."
After saying that, the familiar handed him another potion. "This is the last one. Let's hope we can get back within three minutes—"
"As long as we don't run into another Ancestor, we should be fine..." Rimuru drank the potion again, then managed to get to his feet and follow the Evil Spirits clearing the way ahead. He suddenly asked, "What about the magi who came with me?"
"Do you always talk this much when you're about to die?" Kayneth replied irritably, but his tone soon turned somber. "When I arrived, I only found a priest on the verge of death and two magi. The others... I'm sorry."
"...Ah, I see." Rimuru sighed. "There's nothing we can do, then—"
After that, both of them fell silent. Kayneth needed to concentrate on keeping watch while remotely controlling Volumen Hydrargyrum and the Evil Spirits to clear out the Living Corpses and Ghouls that might attack them. Rimuru, meanwhile, had simply grown weaker and was caught up in the emotions of his role.
Since Volumen Hydrargyrum couldn't operate at full capacity from too far away, Rimuru only followed it for a few hundred meters before he spotted Kayneth. He had packed up his camp and was preparing to retreat. He stood as straight as ever, dressed in a German-style uniform coat. His sharp, lemon-shaped head remained just as striking... as did his chin, held high as he looked down on everyone.
The moment he saw Kayneth, Rimuru relaxed. The more he learned about the Lords, the more he understood their strength and how frightening they could be. He no longer looked down on Kayneth because of how pathetic his teacher had seemed in the original story. Instead, he felt genuinely reassured. The plan should be fine now. This incarnation could be safely brought back by him!
So, he simply let the act become real, tilted his head, and passed out.
"Great Sage, keep this body's functions running and hold on to my consciousness. Don't let me actually die..."
"Understood!"
The next moment, Rimuru's consciousness transferred instantly. When he opened his eyes, a church in ruins was burning fiercely. Blood, severed limbs, and corpses were scattered everywhere.
Amid the jolting, the blue ball faintly heard the other party's low voice.
"You're here? How did it go?"
"Fine. The Church attacked." Rimuru looked up at the owner of the voice: the tall, imposing White Winged Duke, with his head of white hair. "What about here?"
"We barely encountered any meaningful resistance." White Winged Duke dragged his ornate greatsword and slowly sat atop the church, as if it were his throne. "By the next dawn, there won't be a single church or Executor left in Austria."
"Good." Rimuru nodded. "I'll try to hold out until the next dawn."
Under the night sky, an endless army of Dead Apostles rampaged across the plains. A sea of vampires swept through towns, cities, and villages one after another beneath the blood-red moon...
Just as White Winged Duke had said, when one region saw the sunrise, another would fall into sunset.
It was an eternal, unchanging law of the world.
Nebula M78 756365104
PS: Yesterday's chapter was wrong... but it should be fine, right? ╮(╯_╰)╭
Thanks to Luoying for the tip, and thanks to everyone for your support! Hehe, love you all!
Chapter 066: The So-Called Emergency at the Front Lines
After checking on White Winged Duke's situation, Rimuru didn't linger. After all, the one he'd left over there was no more than a split-off body serving as a sort of familiar and messenger. No matter how much he watched, he couldn't affect the situation in Austria. Cornwall Peninsula, on the other hand, was where his biggest stage lay.
When Rimuru fully came to, back in his main body, he could still feel waves of weakness coming from deep within him. Even though he'd severed his connection with the incarnation as much as possible, had Fou's ability still affected his main body a little?
"They've already broken through the outskirts of Cornwall, Leviathan." A melodious voice carried a hint of worry. Rimuru opened his eyes and saw Altrouge standing in front of him at some point. Her blood-red eyes were fixed on him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Rimuru took a deep breath and stood up. "That quickly? I knew our nearly five hundred thousand Living Corpses and Ghouls couldn't stop an elite force, but they couldn't even hold off the Church's fifty or sixty thousand troops?"
"The Living Corpses are all right, more or less, but Ghouls that have gone berserk can't fight in an orderly fashion. The hilly terrain of Cornwall isn't suited to siege tactics, and on top of that... the Magic Association's familiar tactics are a real headache. The Lord of Sand alone can take out tens of thousands of Ghouls." Altrouge spoke softly. "Should I send out my elite followers? Those few tens of thousands of Dead Apostles transformed from ordinary people are probably no match for even these hundreds of thousands of beasts."
"What about White Winged Duke? Has he tried anything underhanded?"
"Probably not... At least, in such a crucial battle, he'd never be stupid enough to take even more risks." As she spoke, Rimuru turned around. His eyes beneath his mask had turned scarlet, and beneath his pristine knight's uniform, there was nothing left that resembled his former appearance—not with his petite frame and blue-silver hair. "Let's go. It's about time we went out and took a look. You must be tired of waiting too, Your Highness?"
"Oh, right. Send a familiar to the canyon behind us... See if Fim is dead. If he isn't, tell him to hurry back—his castle dolls are pretty useful in a war."
Cornwall Peninsula lay south of the English Channel and north of the Celtic Sea, facing Wales across the water. It connected to the mainland only in the northeast, which meant the Dead Apostles faced pressure from only one direction—but for that very reason, the pressure from the front was also the greatest. After all, London lay to the rear.
After all, the reason occupying Cornwall was considered a slap in London's face was that London was... really, really close to Cornwall.
Based on Rimuru's original guess, the Magic Association had probably divided Cornwall into three attack zones. One was a seaborne landing on the northern coast and a frontal assault. The last was an encirclement from the rear, across the English Channel, to cut off their retreat.
As for Rimuru, who had already turned Cornwall into a dead zone, he didn't care about attacks from the sides or the threat of incursions. After all, even if they got in, the only things they could eliminate were the hills full of Ghouls and Living Corpses, along with the more than thirty thousand Dead Apostles that Rimuru had only pretended to value.
But no matter what, once they had pushed deep into the peninsula, they would probably discover the truth and react. That wasn't something Rimuru wanted to see.
So far, the only person who had infiltrated a city, survived, and realized the truth was Kotomine Kirei—and he was already the target of Altrouge's hunt.
Overall, there didn't seem to be any flaws in their plans, but even so, Rimuru still felt uneasy, as if he'd forgotten something.
So, he decided to make an early move instead of quietly continuing to play the Demon Lord in the castle.
The crimson young moon illuminated the land. Its dark red light shone over the sea, reflecting in red ripples. Suddenly, Rimuru, who had been silently flying behind Altrouge, asked, "Come to think of it, can vampires use Magecraft to create blood?"
"If they could create blood with Magecraft, would Dead Apostles still need to go around sucking blood?" Altrouge rolled her eyes at him—an unusual sight—and asked again, "Are you really all right? I feel like your brain's been fried."
"I don't mean the kind of blood that can be converted into magical energy and life force, with the planet's mana in it." Rimuru pointed to the rolling waves, red beneath the moonlight. "I mean something like a conjured substance, created with nothing but magical energy and used as an attack?"
"That can be done, but it's usually caused by the world being invaded and distorted, like with a Reality Marble. You're a magus, so you should know that Magecraft is fundamentally about distortion."
"Can you create it on a large scale?" Rimuru asked. Altrouge fell silent for a moment before replying, "I can, but I'd have to fully unleash my power... What are you planning?"
Rimuru pointed toward the distant army, fighting beneath the faint glow of the horizon as it slowly advanced. Up ahead, all kinds of Familiars and shining holy lights were slaughtering the enemy, backed by the Church's formations and the sacred chants of its choir.
"I want to make things a little harder for them. It's one of my ways to deal with them: my huge reserves of magical energy and my talent for drawing magical energy from battle." Rimuru casually formed a small figure out of water. "But if I use water, it'll be easy to give myself away. Blood is the perfect disguise for me, so even though the battlefield isn't short on blood, there's clearly too little of it right now."
Every time the Ghouls and Living Corpses lunged, they couldn't inflict even the slightest injury on the Executors and nuns. Even if they managed to score a hit with their numbers, healing Magecraft would immediately restore the wounded. They could wear the enemy down with sheer numbers, but Reinforcement Magecraft consumed very little, and the enemy also had the Magic Association's potions and Mana Furnaces to support them.
His forces were weaker than Rimuru had expected. Or perhaps he'd simply overestimated the inferior troops made from ordinary people. That had caused the battlefield to stray a little from his estimates, and Rimuru didn't like the deviation. So, he planned to add some troops. At the very least, he needed to bring the situation closer to what he'd expected.
"But if I'm going to unleash my power, wouldn't it be better to hit them with a big attack?" Altrouge held out both hands. Just like an alchemist might spend a hundred million to transmute gold worth five hundred, turning magical energy into blood would also be enormously costly. Magecraft had originally been magic, and magic's nature was to create miracles impossible for humans by distorting the world. Although most things could now be accomplished by other means, its nature hadn't changed. Magi had many powerful Familiars because they borrowed Mana Furnaces and all kinds of materials, then used magical energy to turn external objects into usable tools.
Rimuru could certainly use water to create a great number of water clones or Familiars. But if Altrouge first had to distort the world to turn magical energy into blood, then hand it over to him for a second spell to turn it into Familiars... that would mean spending several times more to achieve one goal. In Altrouge's eyes, it was clearly a waste.
Rimuru understood that as well. So, after hearing Altrouge's answer, he quickly dismissed the idea of having her unleash her power. Cornwall wasn't a place where they needed to risk everything, and it was too close to London, with too many magi nearby... Even if they fought seriously, it was unclear whether they could win. And even if the enemy lost, they'd still have a way to retreat with London at their backs. That didn't fit Rimuru's plans at all.
The Magic Association's preparations would only grow more thorough with time, while the Church's forces on the main battlefield were merely a vanguard from Western Europe... But just as White Winged Duke had hesitated upon hearing the words "Western Europe," they both understood that the real threat to the Dead Apostles—and the Magic Association's greatest strength—lay in southeastern Europe. Western Europe, including England, France, and Germany, was completely under the Magic Association's control!
The Church still had troops in reserve, clearly planning to cut off Rimuru's retreat. But Rimuru was doing the same, wasn't he?
Once White Winged Duke finished clearing out Austria, he could turn around and advance west through Germany. As for who would cut off whose retreat, that remained to be seen.
So, Rimuru hesitated for a moment, silently sensing the situation on the battlefield through the fog. He looked at the scant traces of blood scattered on the ground, most of which probably came from Dead Apostles and Living Corpses... At last, he looked coldly at the Ghouls still crawling and howling all over the wild hills outside.
"Then there's only one way."
"Hmm?" Altrouge raised her head slightly. She saw Rimuru gently lift his hand. As he did, clear liquid slowly seeped out of the ground. It swirled around and formed something like a giant meat grinder, slowly contracting around several square kilometers outside the city... At once, she understood. In shock, she said:
"You plan to..."
"I plan to put the waste to use." Rimuru lowered his eyes and clenched his fist!
In the next moment, tens of thousands of Ghouls and Living Corpses were suddenly swept together from the plain by the swirling curtain of clear water. With a squelch, they were ground into countless fragments, staining the towering vortex a blood-red crimson!
Then the waves subsided and crashed onto the plain, spreading in every direction. In the blink of an eye, Rimuru had cleared out several kilometers of land!
"Was it worth it?" Altrouge's mouth fell open a little. She didn't feel any pity, since Ghouls were mindless, dead creatures to begin with, but the sight of an entire army disappearing in an instant made her mouth twitch. She couldn't help feeling a little pained.
"My magical energy can form thousands of water clones." Rimuru released his fist and let his hand fall limply. Meanwhile, the sea of blood on the ground began to coalesce, and figures of blood formed one after another, faceless and ghostlike. In an instant, countless crimson figures spread across the plain, accompanied by the waves of blood still surging beneath them. Like water elementals, they took over the entire plain.
Before you continue